Hampstead appoints Hall as a.d.

Legiter known for Shakespeare treatments

Edward Hall has been appointed a.d. of London’s 325-seat Hampstead theater, one of the U.K.’s key new writing venues.

The appointment is something of a surprise for the 51-year-old new play theater. Hall’s resume is dominated by reinterpretations of classics, principally all-male Shakespeare productions with his touring Propeller Theater Company, which has notched four Jeff awards and three Drama Desk noms.

In Gotham, Hall directed a 2005 Broadway revival of “A Streetcar Named Desire” that starred Natasha Richardson. Propeller work that has played Stateside includes productions of “The Merchant of Venice,” “The Taming of the Shrew” and an adaptation of the three parts of “Henry VI” called “Rose Rage.”

Hall, the son of former Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre artistic director Peter Hall, succeeds Anthony Clark (a.d. from 2003) at the end of this month. He will announce his first season in the spring.